BIO STUDIO PROJECT
Pegmata
The Pegmata project aims to develop a technology platform for localized gene therapy where the first technological objective is to generate a transfection system for pro-inflammatory cytokines that uses the cellular machinery within tumors to generate the cytokine in situ over a defined time period. Local cytokine secretion will induce a pro-inflammatory condition in the tumor that will aid the immune system in recognizing and eradicating cancer cells.
About the Bio Studio Program
The Bio Studio Program supports world-class entrepreneurial academic researchers in translating their science into innovative products and solutions. The program’s projects will join BII and establish a team that will work in BII’s office and lab space alongside other Bio Studio projects and start-ups. Bio Studio projects will be supported by a tailored program to develop the teams’ entrepreneurial and commercial competencies and by dedicated BII anchors to help guide project progression.

"Thomas Lars Andresen has a background in biomaterials and biological engineering. He has started several companies, such as Nanovi in 2012, Monta Biosciences in 2014, and the Boston-based Torque Therapeutics in 2015. Academically, Thomas has received multiple research prizes, including the Elite Research Prize from the Danish Ministry of Science, published more than 160 research articles, and filed approximatel..."
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"Nikolaj works as an Entrepreneur in Residence in BII's Bio Studio program. Nikolaj has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Copenhagen and has worked in academic groups studying lipid biology in Molecular Plant Biology and Oncology. Before becoming an Entrepreneur in Residence, he worked nine years with rare lysosomal and neurodegenerative diseases in a Danish startup, Orphazyme. Here, he worked wi..."
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Interview with Thomas Lars Andresen
What have you learned about establishing companies that you can use in academia?
Every time I have established a company and looked at how it unfolds, I have learned something about what needs to be done in academia to be successful in the translation of the discovery and to take it all the way to patients. You really need to understand what a translation looks like to create a company. I have always enjoyed switching between academia and building start-ups because what truly motivates me is to see the discovery transform into something that makes a difference for patients
How did you develop an eye for potential spinouts or translational projects?
When you have an idea, you often run into various limitations and challenges in the translation, so the idea becomes smaller and smaller. I have learned to create ideas that are big enough to have an impact even though they shrink over time. I have also worked in Boston and seen the fundamental differences in how we approach building start-ups. In Denmark, we are very result-orientated and focus on what we have and how to prove that it works. In Boston, there is a much bigger focus on continuously expanding the vision of the solution and science. What could we do? How big could this become? I believe it is essential to find a balance because you need to show results while expanding your idea.
What are the most promising technologies or solutions you have seen come out of health tech?
There are many new promising technologies. Biomedical imaging, diagnostics, wearables, and our understanding of how to use digital analysis of data. Another area is gene therapy, which I work in. The idea is big, and if we can make it work, it will be huge.